Return to Sunnydale
by Chai99
Summary: When the Fang Gang heads over to Sunnydale to help with a new big bad, old conflicts spring up, and they find out how much everyone has changed. Cangel, Gunn/Fred, Xander/Anya, and Spuffy. Takes place during Ats: Early Season 3 and BtVS: Early Season Six. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Cordelia Chase liked to think that not much surprised her anymore, but at the moment she was undeniably, thoroughly surprised.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I believe the correct phrase in this situation is 'I kid you not'. I'm sorry Cordy, but Willow was quite adamant. Our help is dearly needed."

"Stop being such a Drama Queen, Wes! I mean, it's just an apocalypse. It's not like it's the end of the world or anything."

"By definition, an apocalypse is the end of the world, Cordelia."

"I know! I know! I was just trying to say that apocalypses aren't that uncommon. They're nothing to get worked up over. Anyways, do you really want to go to Sunnyhell again?"

"Sunnyhell? Are we talking about Sunnydale?"

Both Cordelia and Wes turned to face Gunn and Fred, who walked in the office door. Fred was busy enthusiastically finishing off a large ice cream cone, while Gunn carried what appeared to be a pint of vanilla.

Cordy couldn't help but grin as she viewed the mismatched couple. Waifish as she was, Fred was completely dwarfed by her new boyfriend. And though Cordy had always found their relationship odd- _*I mean, a street kid and physics nerd? Wouldn't of seen that one coming. _, it seemed to work. *_Definite cuteness there*_ she thought, as she watched Gunn wipe a drizzle of ice cream off Fred's chin.

However much as Cordelia hoped the pint of vanilla was all of them to share, Wes obviously thought their previous conversation was much more important.

"Yes, Sunnydale. I just got a call from Willow; they're facing a new and dangerous threat there, and our help would be dearly appreciated. I believe it would be pertinent of us to head down at once," stated the ex-watcher.

"Well, you're the boss, English, but are you sure it's practical? I mean, for how long? And where are we gonna stay?", Gunn replied.

Cordelia smiled, relieved to have someone on her side. "That's what I was saying, Gunn. There's tons of issues with this idea. After all, who would take care of Connor? And am I the only one who remembers how Angel gets whenever he sees the B-word?"

Wes sighed. "We can leave Lorne with Connor, and put the Sanctuary Spell on the hotel so that they won't be attacked. As for Angel and Buffy… well, I'm afraid nothing much we can do. We'll just have to hope for the best."

Cordy made a face. She knew that Wesley was right and that they had to go help, but that didn't mean she had to like it. And how was she supposed to break it to Angel? _*Seeing Buffy always leaves him a mess. He goes all broody… well, broodier.* _

"Well, I suppose I should go tell Angel," she decided, resigned.

"It's OK, Cor. I heard," came a voice from the doorway.

Surprised, the four humans turned around to see Angel leaning against the wall. He wore his normal black leather duster and black pants with a baby blue shirt which Cordelia had picked out for him months before. In his arms he held baby Connor, who was apparently sleeping. And next to him stood Lorne, who glanced at Wes and Cordelia sympathetically.

Angel sighed. "Wes is right. I'm sorry guys, but we should start packing. We can stay at my old place in Sunnydale. It's a bit dark, but it's big enough for all of us, and it's free."

"Well, at least I and Fred get to meet all you're old friends from Sunnydale," said Gunn, "C'mon Fred, we should get packing."

"OK," replied Fred. She smiled at the rest of the gang. "Good night, y'all. See you in the morning."

"Good night," they all chorused, smiles on their faces. No one could help but smile at Fred.

After the sleepy couple left, Lorne, Cordelia, Wes, and Angel were left alone. Angel carefully scrutinized Cordy and Wes's faces, and noticed the slightly hidden apprehension in both of them. "It's gonna be alright guys," he reassured them. "I know it sucks, especially for you two. But we're not going to let old ghosts haunt us. All of us are different then we were back in Sunnydale, and we have to remember that, even if the Buffy and her friends won't accept it. You guys are my family, and I'm not gonna let anyone get between us."

"But what about you?" Cordelia burst in, trying and failing to hide her nervousness. "Will you be OK being with Buffy? I mean, last time she visited things didn't turn out so well."

"I'll be fine. I promise. We're gonna get through this." Angel handed Connor to Lorne. "You'll call us if anything happens?" he asked the Pylean. "Anything at all?"

"Of course, Pumpkin. You can count on it. Me and Connor will have lots of fun, don't you worry."

Angel nodded. "Thanks Lorne." Then he headed out the door.

Wes yawned and bid farewell to Cordelia and Lorne, promising to be back "bright and early tomorrow morning".

Finally alone with Cordelia, Lorne took the opportunity ask her what was wrong. He had been picking up some pretty serious bad vibes from during the conversation, and was rather concerned.

"It's just, how am I supposed to face them all, Lorne?" asked the seer. "To all of them I'm Queen C, the insensitive bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself. And what will the effect be on Angel? I mean, Buffy will either be cruel and push a new boyfriend in his face, or she'll try to convince him to come back to Sunnydale. Either way, he'll end up hurt, and I hate seeing him hurt."

"Hey, Princess, it'll be OK. The crowd over there would have to be stupid and blind not to see what a miraculous young woman you are. As for Angel's reaction to Buffy, you're forgetting one key thing."

"What's that?"

"It's that last time Angel saw Buffy, he had no one else that he really loved and cared about. So he spent all his time upset, with no one to cheer him up. But that's different now. He has you now. To tell the truth, I'd say that vampire cares more about you than his supposed "true love". So cheer up. Everything's going to be OK."

Cordelia sighed. "Lorne, maybe that's partly true. But Angel will always love Buffy more than anything in the world. That's the way it is. I've just got to be happy that I'm his best friend." Then she smiled. "But you're mainly right. Thanks Lorne, I think I needed a pep talk. G'night."

Lorne smiled gently at her. "Alright, Princess. Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite."

As Cordelia departed for her apartment, he couldn't help but think that for someone so perceptive, Cordelia could be remarkably blind when it came to Angel's feelings for her.

"But she'll figure it out someday, won't she stroodles?" he cooed to Connor.


	2. Chapter 2

The Fang Gang met at the hotel at 7:00 the next morning. They packed their bags into Gunn's van and Angel's car, said good-bye to Lorne and Connor, and then headed off. Cordelia, Wes, and Angel rode in Angel's car, and Fred and Gunn rode in the van.

The ride was rather uneventful, and the non-drivers quickly grew bored. Fred decided to occupy herself by reading a new book on String Theory. In Angel's car, Wes pulled out a couple of new mystical reference books he had purchased at one of LA's magic shops. However, Cordelia, who was not as bookish as her friends, saw fit to fill the time with aimless chatter. Though her unusually clipped tone betrayed her nervousness, she still managed to get smiles out of Wes and Angel with her recounting of an argument between her and Dennis about his habit of keeping the TV on throughout the night.

When they finally reached Sunnydale, none of them could help but marvel at how it hadn't seemed to have changed over the last couple years.

"You'd think we'd only been away for weeks or months, not years," commented Wes, a bit of awe in his voice.

"Yeah. Same ol' creepy Sunnyhell," replied Cordy, desperately attempting to appear calm, while all she could feel was raging panic. _*Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god* _"I can't believe we're really back," she murmured.

Angel to felt an inexplicable feeling of panic coming down upon him, but he did his best to shake it off. "Alright, guys, Wes told Willow we'd meet them at Buffy's place. Cordy, do you mind giving Fred a call and telling her the address?"

"Of course not," his seer replied. "But only because I know how terrified the World's Champion is of his cellphone."

"I'm not terrified of my phone!" exclaimed Angel defensively. "It's just that, I mean, well…"

"That's OK big guy. No need to go all stuttery on me. I'll make the call." But Cordy couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at him one last time before she started to dial. "Hi Fred! Yeah, yeah, we're gonna meet them at the Summer's place. Here's the address: 112 Beaument St. See you there! Love you too! OK! Bye!"

As they pulled into the driveway, all three Sunnydale rejects shot each other apprehensive looks.

"It can't be too bad," said Wes, "We've faced far worse before."

Suddenly Cordy broke out into laughter. "Look at us! We fight demons and stop apocalypses every day, yet one visit to Sunnydale and we're frightened stiff!"

For a moment the trio's laughter echoed around the car, but abruptly stopped as they realized their predicament.

"Angel? What are we going to say about Connor?" wondered Cordy. "I mean, do you want us to tell them?"

Angel pondered her question for a second, and then answered, "If they ask. I'm not ashamed of my son, but there's no reason to shout it from the hilltops or anything."

"Okey-dokey. I'll let Fred and Gunn know" she replied. At that moment, Gunn's van pulled up next to them. "I'll go talk to them now," said Cordelia, and she slipped out of the car. For a moment Angel and Wes just sat there, but then they too got up and joined the group. The five of them unpacked their bags and weapons satchels and headed up for the front door. When they got there, Angel rung the doorbell.

There were some muffled sounds of hurrying from inside the house, and then the door opened. Behind it stood Willow, who beckoned them in.

"Hi Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred! Oh! Here, let me help you with your stuff!" Willow exclaimed as she guided them into the living room. "Guys, look who's here!"

All of the people in the living room turned, and Cordelia was surprised to see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Xander stood leaning on a wall, and on the sofa next to him was a pretty petite blond. From their proximity, Cordy would have to guess that the blond was Anya, Xander's ex-demon fiancée, who Willow had told her of. On the far side of the room Dawn stood perched against a bookshelf, and standing in the middle of the room was Buffy. But what completely surprised Cordy was who stood next to Buffy. A wiry man with bleached blond hair and a leather coat like Angel's, who could be none other than… "Spike!" Cordelia gasped.

The man smirked at Angel. "Well, peaches, nice to see you brought the whole gang. Makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

Angel snarled, and his voice dropped into a lower, threatening tone. "Spike. What are you doing here?"

"He's welcome here," came a third voice. Cordelia was shocked to see Buffy come to stand between the two vampires. "He's one of the good guys now."

Cordelia was sure that both she, Wes, and Angel must have looked fairly incredulous, because Buffy hastened to explain the chip. Though none of the Fang Gang were really at ease, they deemed the explanation satisfactory, and moved on. Xander introduced Anya, and Angel introduced Fred and Gunn, and then it was decided that before they talked about the issue at hand, they may as well sit down and talk about old times and enjoy dinner.

"After all," said Buffy, "I cooked. And it's really good."

Cordelia had to admit that Buffy was right. The meal was extremely delicious. _*Yet another thing Little Miss Perfect is good at*_ she thought, a bit bitterly. She turned her eyes towards Angel, expecting to see him eyeing Buffy with that vaguely longing look that he always used to have on his face back in Sunnydale. She was surprised, therefore, to find him glancing her way, his eyes a bit concerned.

_*Are you OK?*_, his face seemed to ask. _*I'm fine*_, she shot back, but showed her thanks with one of her 100-megawatt smiles. Inside, however, she sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

_**Please Review! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea se!**_


	3. Chapter 3

The evening had started to grow late, and the group had started to split up. Buffy and Spike were doing the dishes, and the rest were sitting in the library.

Cordy watched Anya and Xander confer out of the corner of her eye. The two were whispering to each other urgently, and every once in a while one of them would glance in her and Angel's direction. _*Wonder what that's about*_, she thought.

Across the room Gunn and Fred were talking to Dawn, and from the look of things they had made fast friends. Wes was casually leaned up against the wall, keeping an eye on everyone in the room. Cordelia shot him a glance which asked _*Are you okay?*_, and the ex-watcher smirked slightly in return. Cordy knew from his wary demeanor that he, like her, was not yet comfortable back in this place which held such bad memories for them. However, that was to be expected, and for now Wes looked content to watch their old acquaintances with an eagle's sharp eye.

At that moment Willow headed over to Cordy and Angel, giving them a hesitant smile. "Hey, Angel, hey Queen C"

Cordelia fought hard not to wince at the old nickname, for she knew that Willow meant no harm. Yet she couldn't stop memories of high school and Pylea from swamping her mind. The hand that Angel had draped over her arm gave her ever so slight a squeeze, and she smiled, grateful for his compassion.

Willow, however, did not seem to notice her faux pas, and continued, "How are things in LA? You haven't called me in a while, Cordy."

Cordy gave a bit of a nervous laugh. "Oh, you know, demons here, demons there, demons everywhere." She glanced towards Angel, wondering if she should mention Darla, or Holtz, but one glance and she recognized the vampire's forlorn expression. _*Okay…*_, she thought, _*Let's try something else… maybe Lorne? No, no, talking about Lorne will lead to Connor. Uhh…*_

Luckily for Cordy, Angel took that moment to speak up. "I hear you're dating a girl named Tara," he remarked casually. "Is she around here somewhere?"

One look at Willow's face, and Cor knew it had been the wrong thing to say. The redhead's eyes darted towards the ground, and when she looked up again, she wore an oddly panicked face. "We… we're not… she went away for a while," Willow stuttered awkwardly.

"Oh! Oh, god, Will, we're sorry," Cordy leapt in.

"It's… it's okay. You didn't know," Willow assured them, though she still looked slightly teary. "Y'know, I think I should go and talk to Buffy… I said I'd check in with her." And with that she darted away.

Cordy glanced over at Angel, who looked a bit panicked himself. "Hey," she murmured. "It's okay. There was no way we could've known."

"Yeah. I just… it's odd. They're so different, and there's all these things they've done which we know nothing about," the vampire replied, his glance firmly fixed on what they could see of Buffy and Spike helping each other out in the kitchen.

_*Oh god.*_, thought Cordy. _*Here we go again. It will be all Buffy brooding, all the time. Why did I agree to this trip ?*_

"Well, you have to admit, we're rather different as well."

Cordy jumped, surprised at the third voice. "Jeez, Wes, can't you make some noise when you walk!" she sputtered.

"How horrible of me. Next time would you prefer that I blow a whistle as I walk?"

Cordelia snickered and added, "You may as well wear bells. Xander always used to tell Angel to wear them; they'd probably work for you as well."

Wesley chuckled drily. "I'll take that under advisement. In the meantime, we might want to ask our lovely hosts for information on the new Big Bad."

"That sounds good. We should also probably start patrolling with Buffy. If we're going to be here for the next week or so, we need to get a lay for the land," Angel butted in. Cordy could tell he was in full leader-mode now. He spoke in a calm and confident voice, and he drifted towards the center of the room in order to be heard. "Guys," he said, "This is… fun, but I think we better talk about this Big Bad."

"You're right," replied Buffy. The blond slayer had exited the kitchen, and stood at the side of the room , unnoticed till now. At her side stood Spike. "Willow and Dawn have been doing some research, but Will wants to check up with one last mystical source before she briefs us all." Everyone nodded. Buffy then continued, "There's just, um, one little hitch. The source is in another dimension, and Willow needs help opening up a portal. She said… well, she said that one of you understood a lot about portals, so I was thinking maybe that person could help out, and then those of you who want to can come with me and Spike to patrol." As she said the last part, she glanced at Gunn and Angel, obviously expecting them to be the only ones to come along with her.

However, Gunn wasn't looking back at her. He and the rest of the Fang Gang, save Fred, were glaring at Willow. Gunn was the first to speak up. "I don't care what kind of powerful, mojo-knowing witch you are, you had no right to go volunteering my girl."

At that point Wes added, "It's true Fred knows a bit about portals, but you can't go automatically assuming she'll help out. If you had been a slave in Pylea for five years, you might agree with her."

"I'll do it."

For a moment no one heard the quiet timid voice in the midst of all the arguing. But then it came again.

"I'll do it."

Gunn turned and looked compassionately at Fred, who was staring at her feet. "It's okay, Fred, you ain't have to do anything. Don't let them Sunnydalers intimidate you."

For a moment Fred faltered, but then she lifted her head. "It's alright, Charles. I want to help. I really do." She looked at Willow. "When do we get started?"

"Well, Buffy should take off with the patrollers, and then we'll get going," replied the now slightly nervous-looking witch.

"Okay," Fred said. She walked over to Gunn, and whispered in his ear. Then he nodded.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he muttered. He turned to Buffy and added, "Me, Angel, Wes, and Princess need to get our weapons from the car. Then we'll be out to join you."

For a moment Buffy looked simply shocked. "Wes and Cordelia are joining us?" she asked in a slightly incredulous tone.

"Yes, they are." The calm yet final tone came from Angel. He walked over to his ex, towering over her and Spike. "Wes and Gunn fight best together, and so do me and Cordy." He looked over to Fred. "We'll see you in an hour, Fred. Take care, and be safe."

"I will. You guys be safe too. See y'all soon"

With that, Angel, Wes, Gunn, and Cordy swept out the door, leaving Spike and Buffy to hurry after them.

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